European carrier, Ryanair Holdings RYAAY has unveiled its solid traffic numbers for July 2026, reflecting its seven-month straight traffic growth so far this year. As we know, higher traffic means more passengers and with travel bookings rising across the industry, passenger revenues at Ryanair should also rise, thereby contributing to the company’s top-line growth.
Higher traffic always acts as a positive indicator of the company’s prospects. Given this backdrop, the question that naturally arises is: Should investors buy, hold, or sell RYAAY stock now? A more in-depth analysis is needed to make that determination. Before diving into RYAAY’s investment prospects, let’s take a glance at its financial numbers.
Ryanair’s July Traffic Numbers Show Four-Month Straight Growth
The number of passengers transported on Ryanair flights was 22.2 million in July 2026, reflecting a 7% year-over-year increase. Apart from a year-over-year surge, RYAAY’s traffic in July was much more than the June reading of 21.2 million, May reading of 20.7 million, April reading of 19.3 million, March reading of 15.8 million, the February reading of 13.3 million and the January reading of 12.7 million, highlighting continued momentum from the beginning of the year.
Ryanair’s load factor remained flat year over year at 96% in July 2026, reflecting stable and consistent demand for the carrier’s services. It also improved from the load factor of 95% reported in both the months of June and May 2026, 93% reported in April and March 2026, 92% reported in February 2026 and 91% reported in January 2026.
RYAAY operated more than 1,20,800 flights in July 2026. This marks an improvement from 1,16,800 flights operated in June 2026, 1,14,000 flights operated in May 2026, 1,08,000 flights operated in April 2026, 88,000 flights operated in March 2026, 75,000 flights operated in February 2026 and 73,000 flights operated in January2026, reflecting expanded capacity to meet strong passenger demand.
We would like to remind investors that Ryanair carried 200.2 million passengers (traffic up 9% year over year) in its fiscal year ending March 2025, positioning itself as the first European airline to reach 200 million passengers in a single year. As a result, RYAAY is now the world’s leading low-fare airline in terms of passenger traffic, with low fares and reduced costs acting as the main catalyst. During fiscal 2026, RYAAY’s traffic grew 4% year over year to 208.4 million passengers. RYAAY continues to anticipate its fiscal 2027 traffic to grow by 4% to 216 million passengers.
Other Factors Working in Favor of RYAAY Stock
Ryanair’s fleet-modernization initiatives to cater to the improvement in travel demand are encouraging. The inclusion of modern planes in its fleet and the retirement of the old ones aligns with its environmentally friendly approach. Between March 1999 and March 2025, Ryanair took delivery of 532 Boeing 737NG aircraft, one Boeing 737-700 aircraft and 176 new Boeing 737-8200s under its contracts with Boeing and disposed of 122 Boeing 737NG aircraft, including 77 lease hand-backs. During fiscal 2025, Ryanair took delivery of 30 new Boeing 737-8200 aircraft. The latest inclusions, apart from having all basic amenities, result in improved fuel efficiency.
Concurrent with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 (ended March 31, 2026) earnings release, RYAAY received all 210 Boeing 737-8200 aircraft delivered. In May 2023, 300 new Boeing 737-MAX-10 aircraft orders were placed for delivery between 2027 and 2033. Ryanair expects these fuel-efficient MAX jets to generate substantial growth.
RYAAY has a solid balance sheet, which helps it reward shareholders and make debt repayments. The low-cost carrier ended first-quarter fiscal 2027 with cash and cash equivalents of $4.34 billion. The company repaid €1.3 billion of debt during the reported quarter, including its final €1.2 billion bond in May, leaving the group debt-free apart from limited remaining obligations.
Long-Term Debt to Capitalization
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
RYAAY’s Price Performance
Shares of RYAAY have declined in double digits so far this year. The disappointing price performance resulted in RYAAY underperforming the Zacks Airline industry in the said time frame. Additionally, RYAAY’s price performance looks unfavorable to that of other airline operators like Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK) and Allegiant Travel Company (ALGT) in the same timeframe.
RYAAY Stock’s YTD Price Comparison
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Headwinds Weighing on RYAAY Stock
Production delays at Boeing have been hurting the fleet-related plans of most airline companies, and it is no different for RYAAY. RYAAY is actively in talks with Boeing leadership to speed up aircraft deliveries and has also visited Seattle at the beginning of January. Although B737 production is recovering from Boeing’s strike in late 2024, it is still slow to deliver sufficient aircraft ahead of the summer season of fiscal 2026. Additionally, Boeing continues to expect the MAX-10 to be certified in late summer 2026, followed by the delivery of the first 15 MAX-10s in Spring 2027 (with 300 of these fuel-efficient aircraft due for delivery by March 2034).
Escalating operating expenses due to high staff costs and higher air traffic control fees are hurting Ryanair’s bottom line. Total operating expenses increased 11% year over year during the first quarter of fiscal 2027. Fuel and oil costs rose 16% year over year, as the price of the company’s 20% unhedged fuel more than doubled during the quarter.
Higher environmental taxes and a 6% increase in flight hours added pressure. Depreciation climbed 21% from the year-ago reported quarter, reflecting 29 additional Boeing 737-8200 aircraft, greater utilization and higher maintenance provisions. Route charges rose 8%, while maintenance, materials and repair expenses increased 30% because of fleet growth, labor inflation and greater aircraft usage. High costs naturally put pressure on margins.
What Do Earnings Estimates Say for Ryanair?
The negative sentiment surrounding Ryanair stock is evident from the fact that the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current quarter as well as for full-year earnings has been revised downward in the past 90 days.
The unfavorable estimate revisions indicate brokers’ lack of confidence in the stock.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Time to Get Rid of Ryanair
Production delays at Boeing have been hurting the fleet-related plans of most airline companies, and it is no different for RYAAY. Escalating operating expenses due to high fuel costs, staff costs and higher air traffic control fees are likely to hurt Ryanair’s bottom line. High costs naturally put pressure on margins. Share price volatility continues to remain another concern. Collectively, the aforesaid factors diminish RYAAY’s appeal as an investment at this juncture.
The negativity surrounding the stock outweighs the positives like the upbeat traffic scenario, fleet expansion efforts, solid balance sheet and consistent efforts to reward shareholders through dividends and share buybacks. So, the stock appears to be a risky bet for investors. The stock’s current Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) justifies our analysis.
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